China is home to tea as well as tea art and tea ceremony. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Chinese tea was exported to Japan, Korea, India and many other countries. In China, tea was first used to cure diseases. It is commonly believed that it is Shennong that discovered the tea (Rose, 2010). According to the legend, a tea leaf dropped into Shennong’s pot full of hot water. Then the water became green. He was familiar with the medicinal properties of the plants and knew that the tea was nontoxic. He tasted the tea and found it was aromatic, a little bitter, tasty and refreshing. Tea art refers to the art of making tea, including tea making, tea cooking and tea tasting (Wang, 2009). Chinese people, either the noble or the common people, like drinking tea. Drinking tea plays an important part in Chinese people’s daily life as well as social life. It is necessary to serve the tea to the guests when they visit. In the first part of the essay, I will explain the term of tea art in detail. Then I will discuss the development of Chinese tea art from the Tang dynasty until recent times in China.
The definition of tea art
As Wang Ling (2009) says, tea art refers to the art of making tea, including tea making, tea cooking and tea tasting. Tea art is different from tea tao. Tea tao refers to the though and spirit in the process of making and drinking tea. In other words, tea art emphasizes the visible movements and behaviors while tea tao highlights the thought and aesthetic perception (Cai and Lin, 1995). Generally speaking, tea art is a set of tea laws and customs summarized by the historical and cultural celebrities according to the characteristics of the tea, tea ware, local customs and cultural features. Tea art also represent the respec...
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...hospitality tea art. With the society develops, Chinese tea art has changed a lot. In the Tang Dynasty, the tea was boiled in a kettle or caldron or pot. Tea leaves and tea dust were all used. In the Song Dynasty, the tea is brewed in the bows or cups. A tea whisk made by bamboo is used to stir the mix of tea dust and hot water. In the Ming and Qing Dynasty, the tea cake was abolished and was replaced by loose tea. The tea should be washed before it was brewed. Many steps such as milling the tea cake had been removed. In modern times, tea art becomes simpler. Some popular ways of tea drinking include gai wan shi and kung fu shi. Although tea art has become simpler and simpler, tea has never lost its popularity. Due to limited time and energy, the essay pays much attention to the steps and skills of tea making and did not detail how the tea grew and was processed.
Sui Sin Far portrays the effects of "Americanization" on the Chinese who arrived in America during the early 1900's, in her story of "Mrs. Spring Fragrance". She describes the processes that the Chinese characters in the story undergo as they slowly begin to accept the American culture as their own. She shows how they become "Americanized", yet shows how they are still rooted in the Chinese tradition. The piece is presented in a lighthearted tone yet deals with issues of national and cultural identity.
the tea, "they must have used leaves from the day before" (107). Uncle Chinh also gets mad at
Timothy Brook’s book, The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China is a detailed account of the three centuries of the Ming Dynasty in China. The book allows an opportunity to view this prominent time period of Chinese history. Confusions of Pleasure not only chronicles the economic development during the Ming dynasty, but also the resulting cultural and social changes that transform the gentry and merchant class. Brook’s insights highlight the divide between the Ming dynasty’s idealized beliefs, and the realities of its economic expansion and its effects. Brook describes this gap through the use of several first hand accounts of individuals with various social statuses.
The Rococo idiom began to have an impact the American colonies. The Rococo styles were applied to on vessels. The silver trays had designs around that are carefully designed. The flat part of the silver tray had designs that interact with each other. The Tea server design is astonishing. The way the design are being mold on it. There is not any part of the tea server that has no design. I am surprised on how the people are able to design this piece of work. In reality, these items are pieces of artwork. My mother as well was astonished on the details the silver-plated tray and silver tea
Risse, Guenter. Modern China and Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Symposium Held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Springfield, IL. 1973.
The Han dynasty possessed an optimistic perspective towards technology within their society as they portray how certain inventions developed throughout time and benefited individuals, as they were able to use it more efficiently. For example Han Tan, a upper-class Han philosopher, states “The pestle and the mortar were cleverly improved in such a way that the while weight of the body could be used, thus increasing the efficiency ten times…Later water power was also applied, and the benefit was increased a hundredfold”. (Document 3). Here, one is able to identify that Tan demonstrates the benefits of the development of the pestle and mortar, which was initially manufactured by a wise emperor and how it assisted individuals in Han China. Additionally, The Han dynasty’s government considers technology to be an imperative aspect within society, as it is required to maintain the structure of numerous aspects in Han China to promote the well-being of every individual. According to a request by a Han government official to local Han officials who states, “I request that you establish water conservation offices in each district and
Rebellions had broken out around 1796 and 1804 and again in 1813, and the Manchus were losing their control over the immeasurable region (Jayawardena, 1986, p.168). French, Dutch, British and American boats, utilizing Macao as a base, entered similarly as Canton where specie and opium which shaped 57% of Chinese imports in 1838 were traded for tea, porcelain, silk and cotton products (Jayawardena, 1986, p.168). This restricted exchange, on the other hand, could not fulfill colonialist intrigues. The Industrial Revolution had introduced a time of development and Western nations requested that China opened up as a business opportunity for the products of its manufacturing products and factories as source of raw materials (Jayawardena, 1986, p.167). The British pursued the first war animosity on China; once the Chinese were defeated the British took over Shanghai. Once new rules and regulations were forced and agreed by the Chinese; the colonizers was still not satisfied attacking the Chinese again. Generally, China 's prevailing philosophy had been Confucianism, and according to this ideology the significant social institution is family. This is where everyone in the society has to position their role and for women it meant the obedience of her husband and if she is not married, her father (Jayawardena, 1986, p.169). In addition, women were expected to
Traditional Chinese art is deeply rooted in its philosophy, encompassing Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian schools of thought. The goal of many traditional Chinese landscape artists, as described by Professor To Cho Yee of Michigan-Ann Arbor, is to “reveal the highest harmony between man and nature” through a balance of likeness and unlikeness (Ho). This metaphysical philosophy borrowed art as a vehicle to search for the truth or the “dao”, which is the path to enlightenment. As early as the 5th century, scholar artists such as Su Shi (1037-1101) of the Song dynasty realized that to create likeness, one must understand the object beyond its superficial state and instead capture the spirit of nature; only then can a point of harmony with nature
Williams, C. A. S., and C. A. S. Williams. Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs: An Alphabetical Compendium of Antique Legends and Beliefs, as Reflected in the Manners and Customs of the Chinese. Rutland, VT: C.E. Tuttle, 1988. Print.
It seemed as if tea was a drug for the Europeans because for them it was just so addicting, to the point they would do anything just to get more and more. The only things that were worthy of trading with the Chinese were gingko (type of plant), shark fin, a soft type of wood (used for incense) and silver. As the demand for tea rose, Britain gradually ran out of silver to trade with, and was desperate to find what China wanted. Then, the British resorted to trading in opium. China was very picky about their opium.
Taoism, known as “The Way,” can be categorized as both a Chinese philosophy and a religion. Taoists believe in accepting and yielding to the ways of life, complementing nature and being by internalizing their goals rather than worshipping a god externally. Taoism, in its metaphysical and philosophical nature, is much like Confucianism, but the ideal interests of the two religions are contrasting. Confucianism was formulated during a time of war and relies heavily upon a moral and political system that fashioned society and the Chinese empire, while Taoism correlates to a time of peace and honors spiritual and metaphysical preoccupation (Taoism 2).
Philip J. Ivanhoe. Confucian moral self cultivation. New York : P. Lang, vol. 3, 1993.
This essay gives an overview of early civilization in China and the different periods within this era. Also, it includes political and cultural pursuits of the people within this time period and the struggles of the Asian peoples and their religious beliefs and community uniqueness and differences.
Our personality have a great influence on which drink, tea or coffee, we prefer over the other. Normally a person who drinks tea have a slower pace of life style. Tea drinkers usually take the drink slowly and let it wait to cool down. As tea drinker usually have their drink in little flavor, they usually eat biscuits while drinking tea
Tseng, H.C., Wang, C., Cheng, S.H., Sun, Z. Chen, P. S., Lee, C., … Yang, Y. (2014). Tea-drinking habit among new university students: Associated factors. Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences, 30, 98-103.